hawks or buzzards? let's play "hardball." ♪ good evening. i'm chris matthews down in washington. let me start tonight with this. the boiling hatred of the american right poured over today in hearings on chuck hagel's nomination to be secretary of defense. hatred, pure and simple. from the mouths of john mccain and lindsey graham as they slashed away at war hero hagel. badgering the witness is too

nice a description. the hawks swirled like buzzards sweeping down, pecking and pulling at the skin of a former colleague who dared to say this country's been too ready to enter wars the american people quickly wish we'd never gotten into. what's with this hatred now centered in the american sunbelt? what do we make of this poll that shows two out of three texas republicans now want our president impeached? why the cussedness, why the range war, why the hatred of anyone who dares to stand with obama? why can't politics be a matter of belief and honest disagreement, not hatred? why the sick little intramurals we saw today? we begin with senator jeanne shaheen of new hampshire. i want you to watch this back-and-forth between john mccain and the witness today, chuck hagel. let's take a look. >> were you correct or incorrect when you said that the surge would be the most dangerous foreign policy blunder in this country since vietnam? were you correct or incorrect? >> my -- >> yes or no. >> my reference -- >> can you answer the question, senator hagel? the question is, were you right or wrong? that's a pretty straightforward

question. >> well -- >> i would like to answer whether you were right or wrong, and then you are free to elaborate. >> well, i'm not going to give you a yes or no answer -- >> well, let the record show you refused to answer this question. now, please go ahead. >> if you would like me to explain why -- >> i actually would like an answer. yes or no. >> well, i'm not going to give you a yes or no. i think it's far more complicated than that, as i have already said. my answer is i'll defer that judgment to history. as to the comment i made about the most dangerous foreign policy decision since vietnam was about not just the surge but the overall war of choice going into iraq. >> i think history has already made a judgment about the surge, sir, and you're on the wrong side of it. >> senator shaheen, i don't know what to make of that. it looked like badgering the witness. i mean, it was mccain with some vendetta against this guy.

it looked personal. and i don't know what it had to do with his qualifications, his abilities, to simply pound away trying to get him to agree with john mccain on something mccain believes in. >> well, this was the longest hearing for a nominee that i have ever attended in my years here. i thought senator hagel answered as forthrightly as he could all the tough questions that were in front of him. i would hope we could all be respectful and be willing to give the witness an opportunity to answer when there are serious questions. i was pleased to hear senator hagel. i didn't ask him about the surge in iraq. i wasn't there for that interchange, but i was pleased to have him recommit, as he did when we met privately, his support for maintaining the defense of israel and point out that his voting record has consistently been to support israel.

i was pleased to hear him talk about iran and his support for international sanctions and the president's position on iran. so i think he is -- and this hearing is still going on. i think he's been trying to be very forthright and responsive to all the questions that have been asked by the committee members. >> it seems like a rear guard action on the vietnam war. a few minutes later in the very hearings i was showing you there, chuck hagel returned to the topic of the surge in iraq and gave a more thoughtful response. it related to his decision making in his time as mccain had time there, too, in vietnam. let's watch. >> i saw it from the bottom. i saw what happens. i saw the consequences and the suffering and the horror of war. so i did question a surge.

it wasn't an aberration to me ever. i always ask the question, is this going to be worth the sacrifice because there will be sacrifice. in the surge case in iraq, we lost almost 1,200 dead americans during that surge and thousands of wounded. now, was it required? was it necessary? senator mccain has his own opinion on that shared by others. i'm not sure. i'm not that certain that it was required. >> senator shaheen, we have had so many wars recently, some of them bite-sized, but they always involve casualties, vietnam, granada, iraq, iraq again, afghanistan, iran, libya to some extent. now mccain is pushing us to go into syria. some people are hawks pure and simple. every war is good to them. every war is justified from the second it's discussed. all wars that even come up as potential wars are good wars for these characters. why is this a standard for whether you can be a good secretary of defense? that you have a knee-jerk love of war. >> well, i thought and believe that --

>> didn't you hear that today? i mean mccain seems crazed on this issue like if you're not for every surge, every war that comes along, you're not to be trusted, and the other guy said i served in vietnam as a grunt, i know what it's like. i know the grunts are the ones who take it. the big shots take them into war, the big shots talk about climate change two weeks later, they're still in the ditch fighting the war. your thoughts. >> and i think it will be good to have somebody with senator hagel's perspective on war, somebody who understands that sometimes we have to go to war because there aren't any other alternatives and we've got to defend our values, but who also understands the horrible consequences of war, and certainly senator hagel does that as the former enlisted man who was -- got two purple hearts in vietnam. he knows what the human fallout is from war, and i think that's a perspective that it's important to have, and, you know, i think it's unfortunate to impugn people's motives.

>> i agree. >> we look at two sets of circumstances, and we can have very different views on what we should do, but the important thing is when it comes to the bottom line, we all need to work together, and we all need to respect each other's point of views. >> quickly, what happened to the u.s. senate you and i grew up with, where people actually respected each other? it doesn't have to be a club again, but what about mutual respect? this rat pack attack on people led by the so-called amigos, mccain and lindsey, it looks personal as hell. what did you think on that question? is this personal, this vendetta you're seeing today against chuck hagel? >> you know, i don't know if it's personal or not, but i think it is important for us to set a standard for the american people because we need to keep our comments civil. we need to be respectful because that then plays for the rest of the country. >> like you do, senator.

thank you so much. jeanne shaheen of new hampshire. we have more reaction to the hearing now from peter beinart, editor of the daily beast. you're always interesting to watch. here is lindsey graham, one of the amigos you might say, not an amigo of hagel, also grilling the witness. listen to how he went after his past reference to, quote, the jewish lobby. let's watch. >> name one person in your opinion who is intimidated by the israeli lobby in the united states senate. >> well, first -- >> name one. >> i don't know. >> well, why would you say it? >> i didn't have in mind a specific person. >> name one dumb thing we've been goaded into doing because of the pressure from the israeli or jewish lobby. >> i have already stated that i regret the terminology. >> what is he trying to do there, peter? i mean, he's trying to bait him it seems to me -- i'll answer my own question -- into saying something against a fellow senator. first of all, if he were to name

a fellow senator, that would be the headline tomorrow morning and tonight on the news, it would be mccarthyism. this guy got prodded into voting a way he didn't want to vote because he's worried about some influential people somewhere. what kind -- it was like did you stop beating your wife? it's that kind of question. there's no good answer to that question. >> you're right, it was entirely gotcha. look, the problem here with hagel is that he came into a gun fight with a water pistol. these guys, as you said, were going after him. they had made up their decision, and instead of hagel actually defending the arguments that he's made saying, yes, we should have a military action against iran on the table, but we should be very open about how dangerous military action would be. yes, we support israel. yes, we want to give it military aid, but we also think that some of its policies in the settlements are bad for israel and the united states. he didn't really defend those policies. >> i think that's what they wanted him to do. i think lindsey graham was trying to get him to take some shots at israel. the minute he did -- you're good at analyzing the news, how the headlines will run, then the

headline will be nominee attacks israel. >> that's right. >> and the pro-israeli press or analysts will say there he goes again taking a shot at netanyahu or somebody over there and lindsey gets what he wants. maybe i'm being machiavellian here. >> no, i think that's exactly right. but i think barack obama chose chuck hagel because he doesn't agree with lindsey graham and benjamin netanyahu on everything. most of israeli security establishment doesn't agree that what netanyahu is doing -- >> most of the israeli security establishment doesn't agree -- >> not at all. and hagel has a good case that he could have made there. >> he didn't do it. so what do you think? was it obama's first debate? just a bad night, or was it a rope-a-dope, meaning he said i'd rather take the punches today, i'll still get a 14-10 vote out of that committee, but if i were to attack back, it's almost like ted kennedy in the old days when he was attacked by an opponent. he decided if i attack back, i'm in the mess with them. if i don't attack back, i'll be okay. >> i think it was a mistake.

it was like obama's first debate. it's like let's not try to lose this thing. i don't think that works in sports. i don't think it works in politics. >> prevent defense wasn't the answer here. >> that's right. hagel has a good case for why he believes -- for goodness sake, the last ten years of american foreign policy, these disastrous wars reaffirm hagel's basic instincts about the danger of taking america into war casually. he should have made that case. that's why obama chose him. >> do you think he has an articulation problem? is this endemic? he's going to have to stick up to a lot of people in the world, fight with generals. do you think he just doesn't have it, or do you think he didn't have the strategy for today? all day today? >> i think whoever was counseling him did not say to him, you go out there and say what you believe because that's why we want you. they went and they said, you basically try to show there's no difference between you and john mccain. there is a difference, and that's why he should be secretary of defense.

plus, think the tea party and the ideology are on the way out? well, in just the last day, we show a poll of president obama impeached. and the national review saying latinos, like other democrats, are mostly single parent families looking to stay on welfare. hey, republicans, the latest right wing conspiracy theory. they want you to believe it. and bradly cooper u one of the great knew vees of the year and one of the great philly moves of all time joins us tonight. this is "hardball," the place for politics. love about her. but your erectile dysfunction - you know, that could be a question of blood flow. cialis tadalafil for daily use

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>> she'll give the gavel a final speech. she talked about the global challenges facing america and the progress we've made over the past four years. >> what we faced in january of 2009, two wars an economy in free fall, traditional alliances fraying, diplomatic standing damaged and around the world, people questioning america's commitment to core values and our ability to maintain our global leadership. that was my inbox on day one as your secretary of state. >> quite an inbox. clinton went onto say since then, america's strengthened its standing. tomorrow, john kerry will be sworn in as clinton's successor of secretary of state. and we'll be right back. ♪ if loving you is wrong ♪ i don't wanna be right

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welcome back to "hardball." it feels like we report news like this far too often, but today a student was shot in the head at an atlanta middle school and remains hospitalized. the suspect, a fellow student, has been apprehended. keep that in mind as you listen to the right wing voices resisting even common sense gun restrictions. they emptied their entire bag of tricks, everything from why have laws to citizens need military caliber guns because police budgets have been slashed, but one argument made by gayle trotter was slippery and misleading. one democratic senator called her bluff. here is the sequence at a hearing designed to consider whether assault weapons should be banned. trotter told the story of a single mother who used a gun to protect herself and her baby. >> i would like to begin with the compelling story of sarah mckinley, home alone with her baby. she called 911 when two violent intruders began to break down her front door. as the intruders forced their way into her home, miss mckinley

fired her weapon, fatally wounding one of the violent attackers. the other fled. >> no mention of the type of weapon the woman used. in fact, the woman defended herself with a shotgun. and a pistol. neither of which would be affected at all by the assault weapons ban. later she gave a historical example of a woman using an assault rifle for protection. >> an assault weapon in the hands of a woman defending her babies in her home becomes a defense weapon, and the peace of mind that a woman has as she's facing three, four, five violent attackers, intruders in her home with her children screaming in the background, the peace of mind that she has knowing that she has a scary looking gun gives her more courage when she's fighting hardened, violent criminals.

>> so all mothers should have assault weapons. it's like happiness is a warm gun here. but rhode island senator sheldon whitehouse, one of the coming stars of the u.s. senate, didn't want there to be any confusion or conflation here. >> miss trotter, quick question. sarah mckinley in defending her home used a remington 870 express 12 gauge shotgun that would not be banned under the statute, correct? >> i don't remember what type of weapon she used. >> well, trust me, that's what it was. and it would not be banned under the statute. >> i think you can understand that as a woman, i think it's very important not to place undue burdens on our second amendment right to choose to defend ourselves. >> i mean, you're a woom, what do you make of it?

>> to be honest with you,ives shocked because obviously, she doesn't know what we're trying to do. number one, that woman will have the right to defend herself. and she will have the gun of her choice. even if she wants to use a large magazine, she will because it will have ten bullets and one in the chamber. this's 11 bullets. i would tend to think that this is not an issue between men and women in the right to be able to own a gun. we're not even going there. excuse me. so what you've seen in that hearing yesterday, not just with her, but, really, on the whole side, lapierre was way out of line as far as he was saying on something that he said a couple weeks ago. you know, we'll think about, you

know, background checks. they're backing away right now. and, in my opinion, they're running scared. >> you know, in catholic school, when everybody did something wrong, they said what if everybody did that? can you imagine a country where everybody had not a sawed off shotgun, not a shotgun, but everybody, and every mother, especially, had to have a semi-automatic rifle at hand? at all times? everybody had to live like that because if it wasn't the bad guys coming in, like five of them according to her in this situation, the government might be coming. this is perfectly true. >> paranoia and fear is definitely what the nra has been doing, and i wish they had listened to the majority of their members that are saying we should have universal background checks. an awful lot of them are saying i don't need a large magazine. that's not what i hunt for. i have a gun at home to protect my family. we're not taking any of that away. but there's still -- if you read

the blogs and everything, i mean, what's being put out there is so far from the truth. but when you think about it, you know, what we're trying to do is holistically, we're trying to look at the guns that cause the most damage, the large magazines, which obviously once you go over that 15, 20, 30, 40, up to 100, they say, well, that's taking away our right, but why did we ban machine guns? that's legal by the supreme court. i still go back to the supreme court, which they seem to be ignoring right now, the nra. they don't even want to listen to their own people in the supreme court saying that the municipalities and the states have the right to make laws to protect their citizens. >> let's go to ron reagan on these thoughts. i want you to watch something by lindsey graham here. lindsey graham has been all over the place doing bad work i think the last couple days. here he is warning that cuts to police budgets, talk about republicans going crazy, are one reason citizens need guns with

high capacity magazines. in other words, you got to reproduce the local police department. let's listen here. >> right. >> because of the fiscal state of affairs we have, there will be less police officers, not more, over the next decade. response times are going to be less, not more. there can be a situation where a mother runs out of bullets because of something we do here. >> now we have a new pearl harbor slogan, cut the police, pass the ammunition. i mean, it's unbelievable, ron. >> well, it's ironic, too, because republicans have been promoting these slashing of local budgets that results in fewer police on the streets here, and there's an unstated irony in this as well. that lindsey graham knows full well, wayne lapierre knows full well, gayle trotter knows full well and sheldon whitehouse asked a question which lapierre ducked. if you talk to hard core members of the nra, they will admit, as senator whitehouse said, they

will admit you don't need an ar-15 to defend your home or go hunting or go target shooting or anything else. they want those guns because the police have those guns. and they believe that they will have to fight the police, and they want to be as heavily armed as the police when that happens. that is the underlying philosophy. >> so they think in terms of a barricade situation where it's them against the law. >> absolutely. >> congresswoman, that is new. it used to be they would say we're sportsmen, we're hunters, and then they would say whatever, self-protection if you live in a tough neighborhood or whatever. now they openly say we have to fight the government. that's pretty close to insurrection time, isn't it? we have to be ready to fight the government? >> this is what we've been hearing for a couple months, to be very honest with you. we heard these arguments going all the way back to aurora and going back to gabby giffords. this is the fear and the mongering they put out there.

remember, lapierre said when they came out and spoke for the first time, oh, we should be having more police officers on the street. well -- and in schools. i agree with that. i would love to have more police officers in all of our communities. that alone will not solve the problem. it's got to be everything together holistically. more police, better education, certainly mental health, those are the things that we need to do. so those that want to work with us, that's great. but the nra, which they kind of gave us hints that they were willing to work with us, but now they have totally flipped and they want nothing to do with us. >> it's nothing from the nra. the nra's wayne la pierre -- we're out of time. we're going to keep this conversation up for months. you have had the experience of knowing how important it is. gabby giffords' husband, mark kelly.

>> and that's the difference. other victims are now speaking up, and to see gabby yesterday and her husband by her side talking about this, these were strong nra supporters, and yet they see what can be done. >> i think -- >> 20 dead first graders -- >> go ahead, ron. >> i ws going to say in closing, 20 dead first graders has a way of concentrating the mind. >> right. >> it's a serious conversation. it's an american conversation. thank you, congresswoman carolyn mccarthy of new york and ron reagan. we have one more note about the epidemic of gun violence in this country. yesterday we told you about 15-year-old hadiya pendleton of chicago who was fatally shot in what may have been a gang turf war after having performed in washington with her high school band for the inaugural music festival. it all happened since then. we learned in 2008 she was featured in a video speaking out against gun violence. here is part of that video. >> so many children are fearing gangs, and it's your job as

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back to "hardball." we're in the "sideshow" now. another way for republicans to avoid getting support from low-income voters? enter tennessee state senator stacey campfield with this bold proposal. slash welfare benefits for parents whose kids do poorly in school. well, that's right. according to campfield, somehow the threat of less food on the table is the ticket to getting parents to help their kids in school. figure that one out. anyway, something campfield said on this network was catnip for the folks at "the tonight show." tennessee state senator stacey campfield advocates he wants legislation that will reduce welfare payments to families if their kids are getting bad grades. they cut their welfare payments if the kids get bad grades.

i'm not sure he did that well in school himself. this is a segment we call "the botched cliche of the day, senator edition." >> well, first off, we're not -- i'm not setting the bar like the kids have to become rocket surgeons. >> rocket surgeons. is that like tree surgeons? next, let's take a look at this headline from "the washington times." quote, reagan's home could become a parking lot for obama's library. we're looking at what you might call an extreme case of jumping the gun. this is an apartment building in the chicago neighborhood of hyde park where president reagan spent a bit of his childhood. the site is owned by the university of chicago, and they're planning to tear it down to provide parking space for the expanding campus. cue the right wing. since the university of chicago could eventually be the site of barack obama's presidential library, isn't it possible that the parking lot might be for people who might want to visit the library which could destroy the place where ronald reagan

spent less than a year of his youth? just think of the desecration. a right wing explosion ensued, and even "the london daily mail" dove into this one prompting white house press secretary jay carney to have to enter the fray last night. quote, to those chasing "the mail" online scoop about alleged obama library parking lot, stand down. the report is false. shocking, i know. still, fox news used -- actually asked viewers to weigh in this morning. >> what do you think about this story? should that happen or should it become a landmark? >> or should the president say if i have to steam roll ronald reagan's house to build a library, you shouldn't have a library. >> there's fox and then there's fox in the morning. the university shot down the rumor, and it hasn't even been confirmed that the presidential library will even be at the university of chicago. the university of hawaii remains a contender. yesterday we found that massachusetts governor deval patrick had chosen mo cowan to

fill john kerry's seat. barney frank reacted after announcing he was publicly interested. here is what he told "the hill." if i wanted to talk about feelings, i would have called oprah. barney, that's exactly why we love you. up next, republicans are still talking about like half the country is a bunch of takers. maybe they didn't learn the lessons of the 2012 election, the 47% stuff. more of that coming. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics. smoothes, lifts, defies? red jars are all the same right? wrong! you need three uses of a $15 cream to equal the moisturizing power of one use of regenerist microsculpting cream. seems not all red jars are created equal. olay regenerist.

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welcome back to "hardball." republicans say they're in the process of soul searching. they may want to search a little deeper actually. to listen to tea party republicans about immigration, social programs, and impeaching president obama, you would think they haven't learned anything from 2012 in some cases. for example, take a look at what virginia attorney general ken cuccinelli writes in his upcoming book. it strikes a similar note to mitt romney's old problem about that 47%. remember? here is a new version. quote, one of their favorite ways to increase their power, he's talking about the democrats here, is by creating programs that dispense subsidized

government benefits such as medicare, social security, and outright welfare. these programs make people dependent on government, and once people are dependent they feel they can't afford to have the programs taken away no matter how inefficient, poorly run, or costly to the rest of society. does the republican party have a chance with folks like cuccinelli around? bob shrum is a democratic strategist, and michael steele is a former rnc chairman and msnbc political analyst. bob, i want you to talk about this because it's fairly familiar talk. whether it has any logic to it or not, there is something of a ratchet effect. people have been paying into the social security program. or medicare, same deal. who is 70 years old today who will say i don't want medicare? i only paid into it for the last 50 years. there's an argument these programs become popular. where are the republicans wrong in that they're saying now and cuccinelli's version of the truth? >> well, first of all, people,

as you just said, pay into those programs. they pay in all their working lives. secondly, the idea of a social safety net in this country that helps the elderly, that helps people when they're over 65 deal with their health care expenses, that helps the unemployed who, by the way, pay unemployment insurance and before they got unemployed paid the taxes that support food stamps, has been widely accepted in this society, including by ronald reagan. i have no idea why this guy, cuccinelli, would want to borrow one of the worst lines ever uttered in american presidential politics and put it out there as he's starting to run for governor of virginia. he needs to get support in northern virginia. this is going to hurt him there. he's going to have a very tough race against terry mcauliffe, and he may actually break the streak that's been going on for decades that whoever wins the presidency, their party loses the governorship of virginia the next time. michael steele months ago i think on this program with me said the 47% line was a disaster. i don't know why anybody would repeat it.

>> let me ask you this, it comes down to numbers. everybody knows there's some people are who cheating, some who aren't looking for a job. do you build a whole philosophy about maybe 5% of the people on welfare are just taking it easy or the republican notion 90% of the people on welfare cheat and just grab the check. that is the way you have to look at it. which way is it? >> and that is not reflective of rank and file republicans, by the way, that 90% of the people on welfare are cheating and shouldn't be there. i think to ken cuccinelli's point, and to what bob just said, i think the reality is he's going to have to square that with the people in the state as he runs for virginia, number one. number two, i don't think that's -- that sentiment or that idea is reflective of the party as a whole. but there is a legitimate point to be made about, i think, underneath that argument is how these programs function. i have been paying into the system since i was 14 years old and got my first job. i don't expect to reap the benefit of all the dollars that i have put into the system -- >> which programs are you talking about you won't benefit from? >> the social security program, for example. i have been paying since my first job at age 14 years old.

>> you tot. >> i know. >> you don't think you're going to get anything out of social security? >> i'm not going to get that money back. but this is the broader point. i get it. but the question we have to look at is for future generations, that 20-something-year-old, that 30-year-old in the next 20 to 30 years -- >> let's get back to the argument your party has been making, not all of you. this argument it's basically all a trick. get the people to buy into these social programs so they'll become dependent people. that's the old romney line. >> and that to me is just a cynical view of the american spirit, and it shouldn't have any -- >> bob, respond to this editorial in "the national review." it's called amnesty pointless, saying take away the spanish surname and latino voters look a great deal like many other democratic constituencies. low-income households headed by single mothers and dependent upon some form of welfare are not looking for an excuse or action to join forces with paul ryan and pat toomey. in other words, they'll never be republicans. there's lou barletta, here is what he said about the

immigrants that would be affected by the senator's plan. quote, they will be democrats. i hope politics is not at the root of why we're rushing to pass a bill. anyone who believes that they're going to win over the latino vote is grossly mistaken. the majority that are here illegally are low skilled or may not even have a high school diploma. the republican party is not going to compete over who can give more social programs out. they will become democrats because of the social programs they will depend on. in other words, latinos are democrats endemically. they will vote -- my belief, by the way, this is a case of the republicans, i think as more latinos make it into the middle class, more become upper middle class, more become entrepreneurs as inevitably is happening already, more will become republicans. that's the bottom line. >> sure, absolutely. >> they come from countries that have lousy governments. they're not government lovers. they want to have their own stakes. >> that's going to happen if they're not insulted, insulted, and insulted. the people you just cited prove louisiana governor bobby jindal's comment that the

republicans need to stop being the stupid party. you can't go out during this immigration debate and insult these people over and over again in a kind of semi-racist way, in a way that looks down on them. you know, george bush, and i know this all too well, got about 44% of the hispanic vote in 2004. that's how he narrowly beat john kerry. in a close election, that hispanic vote is critical. if republicans are stuck at 27% -- >> you kissed off the hispanic vote. it was your fault. >> it was rove and bush did a good job of reaching out to hispanics. >> i'm kidding. it was good for george w. i give him a lot of tribute, the fact that he and his family have been very positive on the hispanic relations. there's no problem i got with those people on that one. >> the party needs to listen more to that george bush approach. >> that and aids in africa, the two good things the bushes were for. thank you, bob shrum. we found a good republican argument through all the mess here.

thank you, michael steele. coming up, a real treat here. all the women and men come out. we have bradley cooper coming here. the new movie "silver linings," one of the best philadelphia movies of all time, and the star of the film, bradley cooper, is coming to sit right where michael steele is sitting. take care of that chair. this is "hardball," the place for politics.

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great new movie "silver linings playbook," one of the great philly moves of all-time. bradley cooper is coming here to "hardball" right now.

back to my sweet spot,

philadelphia. my hometown. it's the backdrop to "silver linings playbook," a movie that's earned eight academy award nominations, including best actor for bradley cooper's portrayal of a bipolar man who hits rock bottom after moving back home with his parents. here it is. >> i already looked all over there. >> it's somewhere! >> it's not here, mom. >> just calm down. >> i'm not calming down. i don't give a [ muted ]. i'm not ashamed of it. >> stop it. >> let the whole neighborhood wake up. i don't care. >> stop it, stop it. >> no, mom. >> what's going on? what? >> stop it! >> it's my wedding. >> stop it! stop it! stop it! >> i can't watch a video now? it's all in my head. >> best movie of the year. bradley cooper is with me here, and i really mean it. not just philly.

i have never seen a more heartwarming movie about what humans can do together and how families with work things out, and life can be unbelievable. where did you hear this story first? >> matthew quick, the guy who wrote the novel and sydney pollack got the rights to it. >> the great sydney pollack. >> and gave it to david russell. took him five years to make it. it's just a personal movie. it's such a personal movie for david, and then when we all came around him, it became personal for all of us. >> it's even about the super bowl. it's about families getting together watching pro football together on sunday. and really believing that you can do something in the house holding napkins, holding rags that are green. i saw those philly people down at the super bowl. the eagles. pronounced that way. fans down there. painted in green, standing there all night going home in buses. this obsession with football and how it becomes your life and your family, that's so much a part of that movie. >> yeah. it's a part of my childhood. i don't know if it was part of

yours. sometimes it's hard for certain generations to talk about issues. anfor example, pat sr. the only way he could get to talk to his son was through football. >> and sitting there watching the games with him. >> that's right. >> and the mother making that special food. what was the food she made? >> crabby snacks and homemades. >> let's talk about how your dad -- i heard your uncle, your dad passed, but your uncle -- >> first of all, it's an honor to be on here let me say. >> yeah. got a hold of robert de niro and insisted the guy do philly right. the accents we were kidding about all year. and all the great things like acame and athlete and yous guys. all the philly talk, he insisted that de niro, one of the great actors of all time, get it right. >> yeah. and bob really is very -- >> do you like being able to call robert de niro bob? >> i do. i like better calling him dad. that was the great thing in this movie. i think i said dad 100 times in this film. which was great. >> did he become a father figure? >> yeah of course. yeah. i mean, yeah. mm-hmm. >> four people in this movie, actor, best actor, best actress, best supporting actress, best supporting actor, all four

nominated for an academy award this year. >> first time in 31 years, since "reds." >> let's talk about jennifer lawrence. i think, and my friend gary ross, who directed her in "hunger games," the greatest actor, female certainly actor of our generation. i'd never seen her before. i thought it was my cousin terry, theresa. i thought somehow she knew what it was like to grow up in philadelphia. >> yeah, this is a girl from ken. >> how did she figure out what it was like, act the part of a philly girl? >> i think she's a sponge and she's one of these people who effortlessly exudes this talent. and she's so smart and loose at the same time and so dexterous comedically. she can really do it all. and i think this character tiffany is the closest to her. >> but her attitude. >> it's her atty-tude. >> it's so real. >> it's unbelievable, chris. i don't understand. >> this is philly. let me ask you about mental illness. because sometimes you get a sense, and we're talking about it with all kinds of things today, gun violence and emotional problems and bipolar we know about and autism we know about more than we ever did, this sense that things don't get better. but was there a reason to

believe that the character in this could actually -- i remember a movie years ago "david and lisa" about two people that came together, autistic. and their relationship worked. they found the relationship did something for them. all the doctors in the world do for them. your characters, that's what's so great and american about it, is this hope that even if you got problems, really severe emotional problems, that you can solve them with the right people around you. >> well, that's the whole point. and tiffany serves as the catalyst for that. she's the first person who actually sees who he is. and that's the thing that this film has done, is that you know, i've gone around to many cities around the country, and people are talking about how they actually feel like this film sees who i am. because it's heavily stigmatized. it's not a very treatable disease. and it's a condition that sort of, if we liken it to cancer, it's diagnosed at stage 4. well, that's way too late. so hopefully a movie like this will help it become, you know -- in the onset. >> let's go back and look at some pictures from this great movie. it is my favorite this year. bradley cooper's going to joins again. he's going to stay around for the second segment. we never do this. you're watching "hardball," the place for politics.

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we're back with bradley cooper, star of the great new philadelphia movie, i must say, "silver linings playbook." here's another clip of the movie. but you've got to go see it. when pat, his character, explains his problems in a therapy session. let's watch it. >> can you talk about something that you did before or after? >> yeah, about a week before the incident i called the cops and i told them that my wife and the history guy were plotting against me by embezzling money from the local high school,

which wasn't true. it was a delusion. and we later found out from the hospital it's because i'm -- >> undiagnosed bipolar. >> yeah. with mood swings and weird thinking brought on by severe stress, which rarely happens, thank god. >> is that actor really from south asia or is that an accent? >> yeah, that's anapam khar. he's fantastic. >> he was so real. he ends up at the eagles game and they call the -- >> my brother in green. >> you guys all defend him and the bad guys go after him for having the -- i love that. there's a scene in this you do something, i wish the president did at the inaugural was dance. learn to dance. i was bragging about it the other week because these guys like obama don't even bother to take dancing lessons, they go out there and pretend to dance. but you danced in this movie. >> we trained, every moment we weren't on set jen and i were up there training. and she had the lion's share of

the part. but there were no dance doubles, that was us. doing a very bipolar dance. >> there was kind of an embarrassing shot in there where she seemed to slip. there's a scene in the movie which i think is the treasure of the movie. we probably don't have the clip. when robert de niro, your dad, realized that your first wife has basically dumped ut isn't the right one, never was the right one. >> oh, yeah. the speech at the end. >> he has this great speech where he goes, she may have loved you once, maybe, but she doesn't love you now. and had this one does. >> that's a great moment. as a matter of fact, when we were shooting that moment the camera operator right after bob did that looked at each other, he had tears in his eyes, and we just thought, wow. it was so beautiful. >> what a dad. >> and it's one of the great scenes for them to come together. >> when you win the academy award for best actor i think you should show that scene. let me ask you about you're going to see the troops tonight at -- >> yeah, we're going right now. >> walter reed. >> yeah, we're going to show it to about 50 guys, do a q and a afterwards. >> you're going to show the th the movie. >> which is the best thing about this thing the fact it's able to reach out and make people feel included. i can't wait. >> they're all going to love it. what they'